A bill in the West Virginia Senate aims to ban some artificial food dyes from school lunches. (Spenser Heaps | Utah News Dispatch)
Artificial food dyes would be banned in school meals according to a bill advancing in the West Virginia Senate.
The potential cost for public schools is unknown as the bill didn’t include financial impact information. Fayette County Schools Nutrition Director Andrew Pense told lawmakers Thursday that he wasn’t concerned about the price or his ability to find replacement foods.
“About 30 products would be impacted,” he said. “I fully support this bill.”
The measure, Senate Bill 545, bans a list of food additives like Red No. 40 and blue, yellow and green dyes in meals served in schools. The dyes, typically added for coloring in processed foods, are “deemed unsafe” in the bill language.
The Senate Health Committee approved the legislation after hearing from a lineup of national and West Virginia-based speakers who said artificial food dyes were unsafe and unnecessary for children and adults.
Speakers linked the dyes to behavioral issues in children, including hyperactivity.
Vani Hari, an author known as “Food Babe” who criticizes the food industry, noted that West Virginia has a significantly higher ADHD diagnosis rate in children than the national average.
“Our children’s health is being decimated,” she said. “We need to look at the root cause of this, and it starts with our food.”
Bill sponsor Sen. Jason Barrett, R-Berkeley, said the measure is a key component in lawmakers’ ongoing efforts to help teachers address violent and disruptive elementary student behavior.
“I am very pleased with the work of the Senate Health Committee and the unanimous vote,” Barrett said. “This is a critical moment, one where West Virginia can be a national leader in the area of public health and food safety. I’ve been told ‘Big Food’ and ‘Big Drink’ are working hard against this bill … My response to that is “Big Deal.’”
“We will no longer tolerate them choosing their profits over our people,” he added.
Eleven other states have proposed legislation to ban different food dyes, and California has already banned synthetic dyes in school food. The federal government recently banned red dye No. 3 in food and beverages, which is set to take effect in 2027.
Kristin Zellhart, senior manager of K-12 nutrition standards at nonprofit Eat Real, told lawmakers that other districts had seen minimal cost impact when replacing foods with dye-free alternatives. Some food companies already offer dye-free alternatives for purchase.
“We know it’s possible to serve these foods without artificial food dyes,” she said. “It’s only a small subset of products that contain these dyes, it’s typically showing up in the snack food and nonessential parts of the meal.”
The House is considering a broader food dye bill that would ban the sale of any food product that contains specific dyes.
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